New quick response ambulance sedan launched

Ambulance Tasmania launched a new paramedic first intervention vehicle on 25 September 2012 to shave critical minutes from response times for Tasmanians in emergency situations.

The sedan, on trial for six months in southern Tasmania, is staffed by a single paramedic available to be deployed to emergency hotspots.

The specially equipped and marked ambulance will patrol areas of greater Hobart experiencing high demand so it is closer to an emergency if needed.

The sedan is based on an internationally recognised model for quickly deploying paramedics to patients in need of emergency medical care and will use sirens and flashing lights in emergencies like ordinary ambulances.

The roving vehicle can be deployed more quickly than the traditional ambulances at the station, saving critical minutes for patients.

The new sedan will also help reduce second responses to emergencies by traditional ambulance vehicles, leaving those vehicles available back at base.

The new vehicle is fitted with technology that allows the paramedic to monitor all cases in the area so the sedan can move around the hotspots without being directed.

In the coming months the sedan will be fitted with the latest satellite tracking technology so it can be identified immediately as the closest vehicle to a medical emergency.

The vehicle will be trialled in Hobart for six months before being evaluated.

Road users should watch out for the new vehicle and behave as if approached by any ambulance on an emergency call – pull to the side of the road when safe to do so and allow it to pass.

25 September 2012

About this page

This page was generated on Monday 3 August 2015 at 8:25am.

The full address of this page is http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/news/2012/new_quick_response_ambulance_sedan_launched

For questions relating to the contents of this page, please use any contact details above, or alternatively phone 1300 135 513 or email onlineservices@dhhs.tas.gov.au